Today we will tell you why ntuser.dat is needed, what kind of file it is and how to work with it. We will also deal with the removal of this material. It can be found in various versions of the Windows operating system.
Ntuser dat element : what is this file
First, let's say a few words about the possibility of its removal. Excluding ntuser.dat is not always possible. In the case where the Windows system has only one user, the removal of this material can lead to several problems. There are times when the computer has more than one ntuser.dat. Many files of this type indicate that several people use this PC. The fact is that each user name in Windows corresponds to a separate element with the name and extension already familiar to us.
What for
We have already answered shortly one question about ntuser.dat (what this file is), and now we will try to classify it. To begin with, we are talking about a composite element of the registry. Moreover, each of these files corresponds to one of the user profiles. If you already have an idea about the Windows registry, you probably know its branch with the following data: HKEY_CURRENT_USER, its values and stores this element. We do not recommend making any changes to the registry without sufficient experience.
User Settings
We continue to understand the question of what the ntuser.dat file is for and what to do with it. This item is located on the main disk in the USERS / User directory. By default, this file is hidden. To see it, we need to activate a special parameter. It is about displaying hidden files in Windows. You can perform the necessary operation by going to the "Control Panel", and from there going to the "Folder Options" section. In the long and detailed list of settings we find and mark the item that is responsible for displaying hidden files and folders.
Shutdown
Are you wondering how to delete the ntuser.dat file? We strongly do not recommend this. Such actions will entail a distortion of the user’s parameters, which will permanently ruin the profile. If you have created several accounts in Windows, you can delete the unnecessary by going to the "Control Panel". However, you should not directly interact with the ntuser file. If you need to remove this item for some reason, you must have Administrator rights. Also in this case, logging into the system through the profile ntuser.dat of which is subject to exclusion is unacceptable.
File in Explorer
This is not the only element to be discussed. A file called ntuser.dat log is in the same directory. It contains the information needed to restore a dat profile on Windows. If there are any errors with the account, the system uses ntuser.dat to fix them. If the ntuser file extension is changed to .man, a profile is created whose parameters cannot be changed. In this situation, at each subsequent login to Windows, the settings made are reset to zero, returning to the state that was current at the time of renaming. Among other things, you can encounter ntuser files that have the extension .blf and .regtrans-ms. In this case, we are talking about journal materials. They appear when you create a new backup. If you no longer need it, and there are too many materials of the specified type, you can try to remove them. Such actions should not cause system crashes or malfunctions.
Database
As mentioned above, ntuser.dat is an integral part of the Windows registry. Therefore, if you plan to interact with this element, you need to know as much as possible about Windows Registry and navigate it. This will eliminate possible errors. So, when mentioning the registry, we are talking about a hierarchically built database of settings and parameters. It is available on most Microsoft Windows operating systems. In this case, the registry contains settings and information for user profiles, as well as preset software and hardware.
Most of the changes in the list of installed software, system policy, file associations, and the Control Panel are committed by the registry. This element was introduced to organize the information that was previously stored in multiple files. Thus, a single mechanism for writing and reading settings was created. It was possible to solve the problem of short names and to differentiate access rights. The registry is formed from a variety of data.
During the installation period, as well as during the configuration of the operating system, files are created on the disk that store individual Windows configuration data. After that, the REGISTRY object is formed at each boot of the OS, as well as during the entry and exit of users in their profiles. Data to fill out the registry comes from various sources. Some of them are stored in the files themselves.
Editing, viewing and studying the registry in Windows is done by gaining access to its branches. All changes made to this system are instantly written to special files. To work with the registry, you can use both the basic tools of the operating system and programs created by third-party developers.
Optimization applications, as well as installers, directly interact with individual functions of a given system component. The registry also stores backup copies of information about the operations performed. They are created at midnight every ten days through the Task Scheduler. On 64-bit systems, the registry has 2 sections; one of them works with 32-bit data. A special branch stores all the parameters of the active user who logged in last. It contains the folders of the PC owner, the specified screen color, as well as the settings of the “Control Panel”.
So we figured out the main features of ntuser.dat, what kind of file it is and what it is used for, you now know.